MasterChef 2020: Reece Hignell was ‘heartbroken’ by elimination

In the last MasterChef elimination before finals week, a bubbly fan favourite was sent packing following a harsh critique.

The MasterChef community has been left reeling after fan favourite Reece Hignell was eliminated from the competition over a lacklustre veggie dish, tearing up as he was told to hang up his apron.

Reece, the bubbly star from season 10, came undone in the last elimination before finals week, fumbling over a beetroot and goats cheese starter that Jock Zonfrillo labelled “just nice”.

As he left the kitchen, he said he was “heartbroken” by the call.

OMG!! I'm so devastated that @reece_hignell has gone home. I just wanted to reach through the TV and give him a great big hug!! 😭😭😭 I'm gonna miss you so much Reece!!! #MasterChefAU

— Beki Pennywise-Myers 🔪 (@PennywiseMyers) July 12, 2020

Hard luck @reece_hignell it’s such a high standard. You should be super proud mate, you were awesome - catch up soon xx @masterchefau #MasterChefAU

— Darren Purchese (@DarrenPurchese) July 12, 2020

Devastated.

#MasterChefAU

— Ingrid Harrison (@IngridHarrison) July 12, 2020

reece is gone and masterchef is over for this season thanks #MasterChefAU

— bec (@becschafer) July 12, 2020

First Poh, now Reece. #MasterChefAU really out here trying to kill me before COVID does.

— Courtney Gould (@heyycourtt) July 12, 2020

And just like that, the #MasterChefAU kitchen loses its last bit of joie de vivre with Reece leaving 🥺🥺🥺 Loved Reece in his first season, absolutely ADORED him in this one. Not only a brilliant cook, but super witty & sweet. You're the tits, Reece. Super proud of you Newy boi!

— anonymissjane (@anonymissjane) July 12, 2020

It came after a challenge that saw the contestants serve up their creations to six of Australia’s top chefs, with Orana chef Jock particularly unimpressed by the plate of food, deeming it “not finals worthy”.

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Jock Zonfrillo wasn’t a big fan of Reece's beetroot dish. Picture: Channel 10.

The four cooking contestants; Callum, Emelia, Laura and Reece — with Reynold watching from the gantry — were tasked with cooking a four-course meal for the MasterChef judges along with six high-profile returning guest chefs from across the country.

Having blindly selected which course they’d be tackling, Reece, who is vegan, scored the vegetable entree, Emelia landed fish, Laura meat and Callum dessert.

Emelia managed to score dish of the day with her barramundi and leek course, with Laura’s lamb a close second.

But between Callum’s overpowering, “confused” dessert and Reece’s underwhelming veggies, it was Reece who was forced to say goodbye.

Reece Hignell has been eliminated from MasterChef: Back to Win. Picture: Channel 10

“Reece your portions were just not quite right, your seasoning was out, and we all felt it just wasn’t finals worthy. So I’m sorry Reece, that’s why you’re going home,” Jock had said of the beetroots with hazelnut, chocolate, goats cheese with a lemon myrtle vinaigrette.

“OK,” a deflated Reece responded quietly to the brutal feedback, hanging his head.

While tasting the dish, Jock had been the most damning, telling the fellow judges and guest chefs: “It’s a nice dish, but we weren’t looking for nice today, somebody’s going home today and I don’t think nice is good enough.”

He added that the beetroots were underseasoned, chocolate seemed “misplaced” and portion sizing was wrong.

“I just love everyone in this room. I’m so grateful to meet you guys and have that support,” Reece said following the verdict.

“Obviously these guys,” he added, gesturing to his fellow contestants, “So much inspiration from each and every one of you, and to call them my friends is unreal. Overall this experience just means a lot to me.”

Judge Melissa Leong, who had often shared a playful joke or two with Reece during cooks, went on to say: “When you walk out that door today, I want you to strut like you mean it, because you are tens across the board to us, because you’re wonderful, and we’ll miss you.”

‘Strut like you meant it,’ Mel cheekily demanded of fan favourite Reece. Picture: Channel 10

Speaking to the camera of his eviction, Reece said he was “heartbroken’.

“It’s a sad, sad moment, but I really appreciate what I’ve done since I’ve been there … To do it twice is special.”

“And I got to meet Katy Perry, and I’m still star struck,” he added with a laugh.

Speaking to news.com.au in June, Reece — who was by far the most excited by Perry’s surprise entry to the kitchen earlier this season — said the moment he met the megastar was a clear highlight of his second shot at MasterChef glory.

“Katy was pure joy and honestly, I could not wipe the smile off my face for days after that challenge,” he said.

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Katy Perry on the set of MasterChef. Picture: Network Ten

In May, he recalled of the chaotic day: “The judges said to us the day before, ‘If you ever want to get into an immunity challenge, tomorrow is the one you want to be in’.

“So we expected something good, but we thought it would be something along the lines of we’d all win immunity.

“But no, it was the best twist ever,” he said. “We lost our minds completely. It just didn’t seem like something that would ever happen.”

MasterChef: Back to Win continues Monday night from 7.30 on Channel 10.